Category Archives: The Company of Darkness

The Company of Darkness is now out in print! So, for all you out there who prefer to hold the physical book in your hands (and it’s very pretty!), you can buy it on Amazon.com here.

I’m wondering if there’s a market for signed copies. Would people be interested in paying $20 (shipping included) for any of my print books?

In other news… I’m about 34K into Release Me When the Sun Goes Down and poor Anja and Co are still reeling from the haps from the last book. Don’t worry, I have a pretty good feeling that she’ll be able to dig her way out of the current mess.

How are you guys coming along with the Forged Bloodlines fanfics? You’ve still got a month to submit!

The other day I posted an interview with Cady thanks to some fantastic questions I got from Laveda. Here are Ehtan’s responses to more of the same.

Ethan~ First impression of Cady.
Loud. Not that she has a big mouth, exactly, but the walls were thin and I could hear her through them from time to time. It’s distracting. She’s so young and full of life… it’s overwhelming sometimes. It dazzles you, like staggering into the sunlight after spending too long in the darkness, chasing after slithering things.

Ethan~ Why did you let Cady in? Not only in your crazy world, but in your heart. You knew that it would be dangerous for her yet, you still did it. Also, when DID you let her in your heart?
To be honest I never would’ve let her in if I hadn’t been about to pass out from the rusty knife stuck under my ribs. I never would’ve given her my real name and I for damn sure never would’ve let her take me home if she hadn’t already known where I live. But for whatever reason our paths crossed and she stuck with me for the whole night even though I kept asking her to leave. I didn’t want to fall for her, I kept telling myself she wasn’t for me, but she has this way of worming her way into your heart. No, not worming, that sounds bad. I wanted too keep her out of it, but then I had to keep her safe from Ash and all of a sudden, bam… I was a goner. I never stood a chance. I’m not exactly sure when it happened, but I realized how far gone I was when she left everything behind to be with me without stopping to think twice about it.

Ethan~ What’s up with the invisible tatts? Why can Cady see them, but no one else?
*shifts uncomfortably* You’re not supposed to know about those. As near as I can tell, she can see them because she’s been tainted by demon blood, but that’s just a theory.

Ethan~ Can you tell us what it’s like to do a binding ritual? You also talk about off loading demons, can you explain that process as well? I’d like to know what it feels like for a demon to enter/exit your body.
No, trust me, you really don’t. You’re not supposed to know about any of this. Let’s just say neither one of them are very fun.

Ethan~ What is the most amount of demons you’ve had in you at one time? What is the most anyone has carried at one time? Is there a limit to how many they will let you hold? Any side effects to holding too many at one time?
I’ve had as many as eight demons bound to me before. I have no idea what the record is, but I know Rikard has had more than that before. I suppose there’s a limit because the Company doesn’t want any one person getting too powerful, but there are no side effects that I’m aware of.

Ethan~ While Cady was in the astral plain with Ash, you could hear everything she was saying to him. What are your thoughts on that conversation?
I wasn’t happy about the promises she made to him, to see him again. I didn’t like… I can’t help but feel like there’s a connection there, no matter what she says about it.

Ethan~ Can you tell us anything more about the company? Or is that a no no?
I can neither confirm nor deny anything you may or may not have heard about the Company.

Ethan~ Now that everything is over with Ash, what happens now? For you individually and together.
For me it’s business as usual. Wait to get him offloaded onto another host, wait for my next assignment. Not a lot to do before that happens. As for Cady and me… we’ve got to keep things as quiet as possible. I don’t like the fact that Rikard’s taken an interest in her. The less she has to do with the Company, the better.

Favorite music?
I like to listen to a lot of oldies, The Stones, Creedence, The Doors, Jimmy Page and Led Zeppelin, stuff like that.

How do you decompress?
I have a lot of downtime between assignments, and it’s important to stay in shape, so I spend a lot of time training. But I guess I like to kick back with a beer and watch a movie to relax. Lately I spend more time watching the girl next to me than the movie, but that’s relaxing in its own way.

Describe Cady in three words.
Pushy, smart-ass, too naïve for her own good sometimes, no matter how streetwise she pretends to be. Shit, that’s more than three. Okay, how about perfect?

What would your perfect future be?
That’s a hard one. We’re trained not to look too far to the future. I guess I’d just like one with Cady in it. That would be perfection.

Hey guys! Just in time for the release of The Company of Darkness, we have some fun interview questions from Laveda for Cady and Ethan from The Company series. I’ll post Cady’s first and Ethan’s answers in a few days. Also, if you leave a question or two for them in the comments, they just might answer yours as well!

Cady~ First impression of Ethan.
When I first, first saw him or that night at Inferno? When I first, first saw him, I thought he was cute, but always in a hurry. I didn’t particularly take notice of him. I probably wouldn’t have noticed him in the club at all if the girls hadn’t pointed him out with their stupid game. I never thought he looked like a homeless guy though, he’s way too clean for that. My first impression when I first talked to him was that he didn’t like me much. Except he did call me pretty, even if he said I was distracting him and kind of scowly at the time. And he was so polite… No, thank you this and no, thank you that. I wasn’t even offering him anything, I just wanted to talk for a minute.

Cady~ Ethan’s your neighbor, right? So why was at the bar the first time you’re meeting?
Well, like I said, he always seemed in a hurry, his head down, not really the friendly type. I’d smiled at him in the laundry room before and nothing, so I just figured he wasn’t interested.

Cady~ It had to be a crazy scary experience for you, the night you were attacked by Claudio. What was going on in your head? I especially want to know what was going on inside your head when Ethan impaled a knife through Claudio’s hand through his own while speaking a foreign language. He also ends up killing him, were you not freaked out? Why were you not scared of Ethan?
It was a crazy scary night, for sure. First of all I was freaked out over Claudio’s hypnotism or whatever he tried with me that made me want to go home with him in the first place. I do not go home with strange men, I’m not that kind of a girl. One moment I’m trying to drag Penny away from him and the next I’m ready to pull him into the parking lot and tear his clothes off with my teeth. So when I finally snapped out of it and Ethan showed up, I was all kinds of glad to see him. It all happened kind of fast after that. The next thing you know Ethan’s stabbing the guy through both of their clasped hands while chanting something straight out of Sunday school – it was the most bizarre thing I’d ever seen until Claudio sliced his own neck with the tip of the knife. Ethan didn’t want him dead, I’m sure of it. Plus, I thought Ethan was a cop, you know. I couldn’t leave him bleeding in the parking lot after he’d just saved me from… whatever. I had to help him. It was the right thing to do.

Cady~ While in your dreams with Ash, he asks you to show him what you desire most, in a man. He sees flaws in your choice and asks why you would pick someone so flawed. You tell him, sometimes the beauty is in the flaws. Tell me, what flaws of Ethan’s are most beautiful to you?
If it was up to Ash he’d look like an underwear model, all airbrushed and perfect, but that’s not what I want.
I like a guy who looks like he’s lived a real life, not that pretty boy you see on TV or the movies. Just looking at Ethan, you can tell he’s seen things and done things, made decisions that haunt him and it’s more than the tattoos or the way his nose looks like it’s been broken before or anything about his appearance really. I love the way he looks at me. Like… he wants to touch me, but is almost afraid to, sometimes, like he’ll screw things up just by getting involved. There’s a core of sadness there, like a lost little boy who doesn’t think he deserves to be loved. It makes me want to give him a big hug and tell him everything will be okay. I know that’s nuts, right? Here he is, this big bad demon hunter and I’m the one who wants to do the comforting.

Cady~ Do you still have any feelings for Ash, even ones you don’t mean or want to have?
No, of course not! I could never have feelings for such a monster. What kind of a person would that make me? Just because I let him get close to me… I didn’t know what he was when he came to me in my dreams, that he was a murdering… I do not have feelings for Ash. Except maybe pity. No, not even that, he doesn’t deserve my pity, not after what he put me through. I couldn’t care less if he deluded himself into thinking he loves me, he doesn’t even know the meaning of the word. *sits and stares at nothing for a moment* I don’t have any feelings for Ash.

Cady~ Now that everything is over with Ash, what happens now? For you individually and together.
I finally got a real job instead of having to work at Spanky’s. It sucks having to get up so early, and paying taxes is pretty depressing, but it’s nice to work in a place where guys aren’t ogling my goodies. As for together, Ethan and I have to keep things on the down low. So my friends basically think I’m single again. You do not want to know what happened when they ambushed me with a blind date.

Favorite color?
Green.

How do you decompress?
I like to chill and listen to music, read or watch movies. I love movies! Just about any kind of movie, I don’t care how sucky it is.

Describe Ethan in three words.
Sweet, intense, mine.

What would your perfect future be?
I don’t know, that’s a good question for Gobi maybe. I try not to think too much about the future, you never know what will happen. I used to think my life would end up a certain way and when it didn’t… I think it’s better not to get too worked up over a dream future that might never happen. I like where I am now, even if it wasn’t what I would’ve wished for. Isn’t that all that matters?

My new book is out! The Company of Darkness is now available for sale on Amazon and Barnes and Noble! It’s out as an e-book for $3.99 but you don’t have to have a Kindle or Nook to read it, they have free downloadable apps so you can read it on your PC, or even your phone. It’ll be available in print as well in a few weeks through Amazon. Here is the blurb:

Cady and Ethan beat the bad guy and saved the day… or did they? Cady has been touched by evil, polluted by unbound demon blood, will she ever truly be the same? Asherik the demon is bound but not destroyed, and Ethan’s moods have taken on a distinctly darker turn since absorbing his power. Detective Lucas hasn’t left his investigation behind either, and Cady will have to use all of her wiles to throw him off the scent for his own safety. And then there’s The Company – how much will Cady come to regret showing up on their radar? There’s no mistaking Rikard’s interest, but does it stem from duty or something more personal?

In a world where demons thrive in shadows, preying on the innocent, there is one organization that stands against the enemy in the darkness. But what happens when The Company tasked with our salvation becomes corrupt with its own darkness?

Next up… Book 7 of the Forged Bloodlines series: Release Me When the Sun Goes Down
In this new book we’ll deal with the appearance of another Ellri who’s come to destroy everything Jakob holds dear – which translates into wreaking havoc on Anja’s life and all of her loved ones. We’ll find out just what this costs Rob and Mason, and how Anja manages to take her life back.

I am currently putting together some character interviews for Cady, Ethan and Ash from The Company of Shadows. If anyone has any questions they’d like to submit, now’s your chance. You can either comment with them here, or send me a direct message.

p.s. I’m thinking we’re maybe a week or a week and a half away from The Company of Darkness being ready.

I’m proud to reveal the first look at the cover for The Company of Darkness, courtesy of my fantastic cover artist, none other than my husband James. I keep telling him he should go into business designing covers on his own. What do you think?

Edits are going well on The Company of Darkness and it’s out of my hands for a while as my team polishes it up a bit. Here’s the blurb:

Cady and Ethan beat the bad guy and saved the day… or did they? Cady has been touched by evil, polluted by unbound demon blood, will she ever truly be the same? Asherik the demon is bound but not destroyed, and Ethan’s moods have taken on a distinctly darker turn since absorbing his power. Detective Lucas hasn’t left his investigation behind either, and Cady will have to use all of her wiles to throw him off the scent for his own safety. And then there’s The Company – how much will Cady come to regret showing up on their radar? There’s no mistaking Rikard’s interest, but does it stem from duty or something more personal?

In a world where demons thrive in shadows, preying on the innocent, there is one organization that stands against the enemy in the darkness. But what happens when The Company tasked with our salvation becomes corrupt with its own darkness?

***
In the mean time, here is a little taste to tempt you with. This is Cady and Ethan sharing a little pillow talk – only they never made it to the bed, so picture them on the floor next to the couch.

***

“So that’s all you do, move from place to place, hunting demons or whatever else they tell you to do?”

“It keeps me on my toes,” he said with a faint smile. “And I’ve learned not to form attachments to things, I can be ready to go at a moment’s notice.”

“Or people?”

“For the most part, yes.”

“Sounds lonely.”

Ethan tipped back the rest of his beer before he spoke. “You get used to it after a while and you don’t miss it.”

“So you’re saying you wouldn’t miss this? Me?”

“After a while, no.”

Cady shoved at his shoulder, eyes narrowing to slits. “You’re not supposed to say that! You’re supposed to tell me you’d miss me for the rest of your life, or even better, that you’d find some way to come back to me or take me with you,” she scowled, and he gave her a baffled shrug.

“Sorry, I haven’t had a girlfriend in a while.”

“Really? Couldn’t tell from the sexcapades we just shared.”

“I didn’t say I hadn’t had sex in a while.”

“Okay we can just stop this topic of conversation right there…” Her hand came up, not wanting to hear another word until she caught the hint of a smile on his lips and she punched him on the shoulder. “I’m gonna get you for that, just you wait and see.”

“Try it, I’ll be ready.” His lips curved into a wider grin as he caught her fist and pulled her into his arms, her head lying mostly in his lap as he looked down at her. “I told you, some things you don’t forget. But nobody’s been stupid enough to get involved with me before, not since I joined the Company.”

“I love your pillow talk, baby. Especially when you call me stupid.” She batted her eyelashes up at him.

“And I love you, which makes me the stupid one for bringing you into this kind of a life,” he sighed, stroking the side of her face.